Mute
by Wandering Dawn
Summary: After finding a girl on his doorstep clearly shaken up from a traumatic ordeal Gale doesn't quite know what to do with her. After taking her in and caring for her he wonders how this girl could have possibly rooted herself into his heart so easily. Slight AU.


AN: The plot bunny wasn't running away... I had to write it :) Enjoy!

* * *

At first, he doesn't realize she's there, just sitting, outside his door on the steps leading up to his porch. He doesn't notice the girl who is caked head to foot in mud, trembling violently and covered in little scars. Who would? It was district 12 after all, not many people notice things like this as out of the ordinary. It wasn't until the bright lights of early Sunday morning, when the woods were calling out for his presence, that he noticed the girl at all. With his bow strapped to his back, quiver of arrows secure and a slight spring in his step he emerged from his house, looking forwards to a good hunting day. Upon spotting a glimmer of bright red hair he stopped and looked out of the corner of his eye watching, just watching her, for a moment. It was clear she was in distress, the way she trembled and the way she looked. He could barely see the redness of her hair or the creamy colour of her skin. His hunters instincts, however, kicked in as he approached the girl with all the caution he would use towards a wild animal he was intending to take down.

Once he was in front of her he knelt down and put himself face to face with her, his black hair glinting in the sunlight in a way that made her look up before cowering back again slightly. "It's okay," he told her gently, completely out of character for his usually defiant and brisk nature. He slowly, cautiously, reached out a hand towards her, still acting as though she were a wild animal he did not want to scare away. Placing it upon her upper arm he watched as she jumped slightly, but did not shake the hand off as she looked towards him again. She seemed scared, timid... detached, he realised as he searched her green eyes for any sort of familiarity. When he found none he gently approached her again. "What's your name?" he asked as softly as he could. When she didn't respond in any way except to stare at him more he sighed, trying one last time. "Why are you here?" his tone was a little more forceful than before, causing her trembling to worsen. Still, she didn't make any other reaction.

He stood up and looked longingly towards the forest. He was sure game would be rife on such a beautiful day, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to leave this woman. Ever since he lost Katniss due to the death of her sister that he may or may not have been the cause of he has felt a need to protect , something he was unable to do for her. holding his hand out, he hoped the girl would grasp onto his hand and pull herself up. To his annoyance she didn't move a muscle. Sighing yet again he leaned down and wrapped his hands around hers, pulling her to her feet before leading her inside his one bedroom cottage on the edge of the woods, far away from the rest of district 12. He had moved here to keep an eye on her, until, that was, he realised he didn't need to keep an eye on her. Peeta was more than capable of taking care of her, even in his own mentally deranged state. They needed each other more than they needed him. And he had accepted that. Now this lonely shaken girl needed him, he realised. And he was more than happy to try help her.

Depositing her upon the couch he went towards the kitchenette in the back corner of the room and poured her a glass of water. Upon handing it to her he watched her closely for a moment, sat opposite her on his little coffee table. "Listen," he says in a business voice. "I need for you to tell me who you are so that I can help you. Perhaps I could find your family or your home and help you back there?"

To his horror this seemed to bring forth a mass of strangled sobs and tears from the girl almost immediately. She began shaking even harder than she had been, her unsteady hand dropping the glass upon the floor. The shattering of which caused her to jerk back, pulling her knees into her body and wrapping her arms around her legs tightly, burying her head into the tops of her knees. Gale gently pulled her out of her foetus like position and held her face in his hands, steadying and grounding before talking to her in a hushed soothing tone. "It's okay. It was just the glass breaking. You're okay here. I promise. You're safe." Slowly she nods, her eyes completely trusting of Gale despite him being a complete stranger. Taken aback by her first reaction to him he continued on gently. "Do you want to get out of those clothes? And get washed up?" Again she nods slowly, her trust faltering slightly. Gale shakes his head, attempting to reassure her again by telling her she is safe.

After drawing her a bath and leaving her to wash herself he finds a pair of his light shorts and one of his old shirts that was now too small but would fit her well enough. After almost an hour had lapsed he knocks on the door and opens it just a crack to find that she is just sitting there, not having moved an inch from her previous place sat upon the toilet. Shaking his head he stand her up and begins to undress her before putting her in the now lukewarm bath and starts washing her face and hair himself, since she seems incapable of doing so herself right now. Once clean he pulls her out, wraps her in a towel and begins to dry her gently, so as not to hurt her more than she already clearly is he notices bruises along the tops of her arms and shoulders and cuts on any exposed skin she had. Frowning he helped her into his clothes and took her to his bedroom where he deposited her on the bed and pulled the sheets over to warm her through, staying sat at the edge of the bed until she had fallen asleep.

Gale couldn't place his finger on why he felt such a strong need to protect this young girl. Was it because she reminded him of Katniss in her catatonic state? Or was it that her hair reminded him of Posey? Either way, he found it difficult to leave her side over the next few days.

* * *

He doesn't know if the days or the nights are the worst. The nights where she wakes up screaming in a fit of strangled screams that don't sound quite right to his ears, but he swears he has heard the noise before, or the day in which she retreats back into her catatonic state, refusing to speak to him and unwilling to look after herself properly. It isn't until one night when he has been awoken for the third time that night that he rushes over to her and grabs her roughly by the tops of her arms like he hasn't done before, startling her into silence again that he begins to find the familiar rage building up in his system.

"WHY WON'T YOU SPEAK?" he yells, suddenly, causing her cower away from him, into the furthest corner of the room. He can see her mouth moving, opening and closing like a fish but no sound coming out. "Speak damnit! I can see you want to so why don't you? It's been three fucking weeks!" he yells again, this time his hand forming a fist and smashing into the wall causing his skin to split open and blood to trickle out onto the back of his hand.

She shakes her head violently, her hands coming up to cover her eyes as she whimpers softly.

Gale realises his mistake almost instantly. He sighs and sits down beside her, placing his hand gently upon her trembling form. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't push you I know."

Peeking through her fingers she slowly, shakily reaches her hands up into the air, and starts making foreign gestures to him that he doesn't understand. She sees the confusion etched upon his face before huffing slightly before making a gesture she hopes he understands, pretending she is holding a pen and writing on her hand.

A flicker of understanding runs across Gales face before he is darting out of the room, only to return a few moments later with a notepad and a piece of charcoal. He hands them to her before settling down again next to her, watching her write in the soft flicker of candle light that he had brought in when he first heard her screaming.

_My name is Lavinia. I am from District 4. I was turned into an Avox by the Capitol._

Reading the scrawling script Gale began to get angry again but for a whole different reason. Taking one look at Lavinia he instantly softened, seeing the look of shame and guilt upon her face. "It's not that you won't speak, it's that you can't," he whispered softly. She nodded her head and suddenly everything made sense to him. The strangled screams were those that he head in the underground tunnels during the war as Avoxes were ripped apart by the muttations.

He looks down and sees she had written one other word upon the paper. _Thankyou. _He knows she means for taking her in, for being patient, for not throwing her out, for being so hospitable. He nods his head once more before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and holding her small frame to his large solid one, just like he did before when she had nightmares. "Come on, you should probably get back to sleep," he says softly, standing up and holding his hand out to her. she scribbles something else upon the paper before handing him to notepad. _Stay?_ He smiles genuinely at her and nods, pulling her to her feet and bringing her back to the bed. After slipping in behind her and wrapping his arms securely around her torso he leans over to the bedside table and blows out the candle, encompassing them in darkness once again. He feels her begin to shake under his arms at the darkness. Tightening his hold on her he whispers soft reassuring words into her ear until she falls to sleep once more.

* * *

It isn't until almost three months have passed that Lavinia suggests leaving Gale as she feels like she is intruding upon him and his life. Gale begins to mull it over in his mind for a few moments before he realises that looking after this poor, broken girl has become his entire life. He doesn't really remember what his days were like before he began worrying about her every second of the day. He shakes his head telling her she is welcome to stay as long as she likes before wandering off into the woods to find some solace and clarity.

When he comes home that night and sees she is still there he smiles as he asks her to teach him sign language, so they can communicate more effectively. During their late nights of lessons, somewhere along the line, Gale stops sleeping on the couch all together and they find themselves curled into one another every night, holding each other tightly for comfort. In the rare moments of untainted happiness they both find by waking up to each other in a morning Gale wonders how this girl managed to wind herself into his life, rooting herself so effectively and wholeheartedly into his heart.

**Gale. **She signs, a few months after their beginning of their lessons. He snaps out of his daydream and looks at her hands guiltily, with more rapt interest. She smiles at him, shaking her head a little before moving her hands once again. **If you keep staring at my lips I'll be inclined to think you want to kiss me. **

His ears turn pink as he tries to salvage his dignity. **Just wishing I could hear your voice, **he signs. He watches as her playful expression falters. He isn't sure whether it's because he is wishing for the impossible or because she actually wanted him to kiss her. hesitantly he brings his hands back up again before signing to her. **Do you want me to kiss you? **

He watches as her face moves slowly, up and down in a nodding gesture. **But only if you want to**, she adds quickly. So quickly Gale almost misses it with the slow pace he is able to pick it up. Smirking slightly to himself he leans forward, across the cushion separating them before touching his lips to hers softly, pulling away as a little static shock goes through them. Lavinia laughs her unique Avox laugh as she clearly felt it too. **When sparks fly... **

Gale chuckles in spite of himself before shaking his head. "Whatever, I probably just moved my feet against the carpet," he says, forgetting all sign language as his mind was wiped blank.

* * *

He doesn't try again until almost six months later when Lavinia is visibly upset after a long day with Peeta. She comes in, tears streaming down her face, throwing herself into his arms as she sobs quietly. He notices the fresh bruises along the tops of her arms and shoulders as her realises Peeta must have relapsed with her there for the first time. Whilst he knows it doesn't happen as often now, when it does Peeta is particularly violent and the only person who can seem to bring him out of it is Katniss. If she wasn't there who knows what went down between Lavinia and Peeta.

He held her tightly, whispering words of comfort and rubbing her back like he usually does when she leaned up and kissed him on the lips forcefully and needily. He pulls back, shocked at her actions before she raises her hands, looking into his eyes so brokenly as she signs one words to him; **please. **His heart breaks a little as he realises that he is so completely and utterly in love with her that he would do almost anything to ease her pain and make it go away. It is with that knowledge that he allows her to drag him up the stairs and into their bedroom. Three months later they both sign those fateful words to each other, letting the other know they are never ever letting go.


End file.
